The MPs that have so far claimed the HIGHEST expenses in the North-East

Five Conservative MPs and one Labour MP each claimed back more than £50,000 from the taxpayer in most recent data published by regulators last week. 

Northern Echo analysis of Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data found each MP had spent significantly above the average. 

Read more: From toilet roll to flats in London: This is what MPs can claim expenses for 

The average amount claimed by the region's 31 MPs (29 in the North-East and two in North Yorkshire) currently stands at £37,950 over the ten-month period so far. 

Nationally, the figure for all MPs over the same time frame - April, last year to January, this year - stands at £30,044. Data for the full year is not yet available.

This covers expenses claimed for travel within the constituency, travel to London for parliamentary work, renting a second home in London, staffing and office costs.

And while there is nothing to suggest that any of the MPs listed in today's special report are doing anything wrong, we've looked at the figures to see who has claimed the most.

We also approached each MP for comment, and asked them why they believe their costs are among the highest in the region so far.

1. Peter Gibson - £66,309

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The Conservative MP for Darlington, Peter Gibson claimed back more than £66,000 in expenses between April 2020 and January 2021.

Office costs have accounted for a significant amount of that, with £36,286 reclaimed, including £4,098 on stationery and printing.

A one-off cost of £8,210 was claimed for the print and distribution of "vital information on Covid-19" for his constituents, which was claimed in April.

Read more: Darlington MP explains why he spent more than £8,200 on leaflets in one month

Under accommodation costs, Mr Gibson claimed back £18,960 which covers costs of a hotel or renting outside of the constituency - £1,776 a month is spent on rent. 

Accommodation costs also cover the likes of council tax bills, gas and electric and water bills at the second rented home.

£3,380 was spent on travel, with this accounting for rail fares between his constituency and London.

Out of 28 rail tickets, just three were categorised as first-class travel while the rest were formed of standard-class journeys.

Meanwhile staffing costs claimed back so far amounted to £7,681, with £2,832 on administrative support during the pandemic - £3,049 was spent on 'policy research unit.'

Read more: From toilet roll to flats in London: This is what MPs can claim expenses for

Mr Gibson said: “My business costs are in full compliance with the scheme administered by IPSA who scrutinise and examine every item.

“Over the course of the last year the pandemic, my constituents were presented with huge challenges which my team and I stepped up to respond to.

"From supporting constituents in making claims, to ensuring that constituents abroad were able to return safely to Darlington, whilst supporting them overseas with access to necessities such as medication supplies and providing overall advice in general.

"At the peak of the pandemic my team were working seven days a week.

"My office has provided and continues to provide a first-class service to constituents, and as with any business my employees need the necessary materials in order to carry out their roles. 

2. Kevin Hollinrake - £55,758

The Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake, has so far claimed the second highest amount over the ten-month period, with claims totalling £55,758. 

Accommodation outside of his North Yorkshire constituency accounted for a large portion of this at £28,960 - equating to £2,925 on rent per month.

Office costs accounted for £12,145 - which included £1,750 on stationery and printing costs.

Meanwhile £6,137 was claimed back for his own travel, £59 for dependent travel and £524 on travel for his office staff.

On his own rail travel, Mr Hollinrake claimed back 18 first-class tickets to the capital at a cost just under £2,000, and 35 standard at £2,859.

Staffing costs claimed back by Mr Hollinrake have so far amounted to £7,088, with £4,032 on Maypole and £3,056 on policy research unit.

In response, Mr Hollinrake said he expected his office costs to decrease following the closure of one last year.

He said: "Having closed one of my constituency offices in Easingwold in October my office costs are coming down and are in line with other MPs.

"My travel and accommodation costs relate to London and I make no claim for travel within the constituency or any other local expenses.

"A number of the other MPs on the list own their home in London and therefore have lower accommodation costs."

3. Paul Howell - £52,719

The Conservative MP for Sedgefield, Paul Howell has seen the region's third-highest amount claimed with £52,719 over the ten-month period.

Accommodation outside of his County Durham constituency accounted for £22,212 of this - equating to £1,917 per month on rent and a further £1,120 on hotels. 

The office costs were £22,383, including £864 on stationery and printing. 

Spending £3,008 on his own travel, Mr Howell's office also claimed back £59 for dependent travel and £875 for staff working in his office.

Mr Howell claimed back £1,729 on rail travel between the North-East and London - with 13 standard-class tickets, and five uncategorised tickets.

Staffing costs claimed back by Mr Howell have so far amounted to £3,048, with £3,049 on policy research unit.

But £1,882 of the amount spent under staffing costs on 'advertising and contact cards' was repaid in full by Mr Howell.

In response, Mr Howell said a large proportion of the costs, including the set-up of his office, were included in the figures from April 2020 to January 2021.

Mr Howell said that he kept his accommodation costs down by purchasing second-hand furniture from former Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson.

He said the figures also reflected spending as part of IPSA's £6,000 'start-up allowance,' given to newly-elected MPs which was rolled over from last year. 

He said: "Any money that I'm spending I treat as if it is my own – and that’s reflected in the way I do my travel expenses, you will never see a first class ticket, I always try to get the cheapest train ticket.

"We will always try and get value for money, we will always, as much as we possibly can spend with local suppliers on things - I absolutely will give my constituents value for money."

Despite the IPSA entries not detailing the type of rail ticket purchased on five occasions, Mr Howell said they were all standard-class. 

4. Anne-Marie Trevelyan - £52,470

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The Conservative MP for Berwick, Anne Marie-Trevelyan accrued claims totalling £52,470 between April 2020 and January 2021.

Accommodation outside of her Northumberland constituency accounted for £19,740 of this - with £1,183 per month going on rent.

Office costs accounted for £21,653 which includes £2,371 spent on stationery and printing.

Spending £6,484 on travel, Ms Trevelyan claimed back £5,398 on mileage travelling between the constituency and London, and within her constituency.

She spent £717 on six first-class tickets and £306 on three standard-class tickets between Alnmouth Rail Station to the capital.

Staffing costs claimed back by Ms Trevelyan have so far amounted to £2,552, with £2,540 on policy research unit and £12.95 on the flu jab.

Ms Trevelyan was approached for comment, but we did not receive a response at time of publication. 

5. Julie Elliot - £50,062

The Labour MP for Sunderland Central, Julie Elliot has claimed the most out of any other MP in her party in the region so far, and the region's fifth overall with £50,062.

Her accommodation costs outside of her Wearside constituency totalled £20,352 - equating to £2,145 per month on rent for her flat in London.

Spending £21,815 on office costs, a total of £2,544 has been spent on stationery and printing.

Meanwhile £3,010 was spent on travel, with almost all of these claims being for mileage and three of them the London congestion charge. There were no claims for rail travel. 

Staffing costs claimed back by Ms Elliot have so far amounted to just £25, which was classed as an eye test in October 2020.

Ms Elliot's office was approached for comment, but we did not receive a response at time of publication. 

6. Ian Levy - £50,018

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The Conservative MP for Blyth Valley in Northumberland has claimed back £50,018 between April 2020 and January 2021.

The largest costs are Mr Levy's accommodation outside of his constituency where £21,092 has been claimed back - the MP spends £1,917 per month on rent. 

Mr Levy's office costs add up to £18,188 for him and his staff, with £3,709 of that being spent on stationery and printing.

Spending £6,573 on travel costs, the MP claimed back £1,448 in mileage including fuel and spent more than £3,600 on rail tickets.

Out of 26, 21 of those rail tickets were standard-class and the remaining were uncategorised.

Mr Levy claimed back £1,592 for dependent travel, and £2,060 for staff travel - where the majority of journeys made were between his constituency and London.

Staffing costs claimed back amounted to £511, which was for press management training for his Parliamentary Assistant to further "aid" him in his role as MP.

In response Mr Levy said a portion of his costs had been due to the setting up of offices in both his constituency and in London.

He said: "I was elected in December 2019 and have had an office to set up in both Blyth Valley and London.

"It must be said that new members of parliament face different costs and those wishing to give a better service to their constituents by having an office in the constituency and staff that deal with casework promptly brings associated costs.

"To this end, I am extremely proud of what has been achieved to date for Blyth Valley residents which includes over £11m to regenerate Blyth Town Centre and confirmation of the return of passenger rail services to three stations in the constituency."

What IPSA said

A spokesperson said a full breakdown of MPs expenses from the April 2020 to April 2021 period would not be available until later this year.

It said that newly MPs in December 2019 received a start-up supplement of £6,000 for the financial year they were elected in.

IPSA then rolled forward any amount leftover from their start-up supplement for that year into the 2020/21 financial year.

It went on to say that some MPs may have spent more money to assist staff to move to homeworking and workloads for some MPs may have increased due to the pandemic.

To view the figures published by IPSA - click here